Sam Groth
IN PHOTO: Sam Groth of Australia hits a return to compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis during their men's singles second round match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Australians Sam Groth and James Duckworth both moved on to the second round of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, where they will face each other. Groth and Duckworth won their first round matches against Jack Sock 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3 and Malek Jaziri 7-6 6-2 3-6 3-6 7-5, respectively.

This year only marks Groth’s second appearance at SW19. In 2009, the 27-year-old Narrandera native was bidding to make his debut at the Wimbledon Championships, but lost in the qualification to Jesse Levine 6-4 7-6 7-5. Last year, Groth finally made his first appearance at the All England Club, but his Wimbledon dream was crushed early in the first round when he lost to Alexander Dolgopolov in three sets.

Groth goes to SW19 with 9-14 win-loss record. The 69th-ranked Australian won an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger title at the Aegon Manchester Trophy grass tournament. Groth took part in two more grass events as part of his preparation for the Wimbledon grand slam event including the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart and the Aegon Open in Nottingham.

Groth reached the quarterfinal of the Mercedes Open, but lost to Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in straight sets 7-6 6-1. At the Aegon Open, Groth failed to get past the second round after losing to Joao Sousa 7-6 6-3 7-6.

Meanwhile, Duckworth is making his third consecutive appearance at SW19. Duckworth first qualified for the main draw at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, but he lost in the first round to American Denis Kudla 6-4 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-1. He made his subsequent Wimbledon appearance the following year, but lost against in the first round to 13th-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1.

Duckworth didn’t have any grass preparations as his last tournament was the claycourt grand slam event at the Roland Garros, where he bid farewell in the first round following loss to Andrea Arnaboldi 4-6 6-7 7-6 7-6 6-0.

The upcoming second-round match will be the second time that Groth and Duckworth will meet on professional tour. Groth leads their series and won in their previous and only meeting 6-3 6-7 6-3 during the first round of the ATP event in Shenzhen in 2014. The winner of the all-Aussie second-round clash will book a potential clash with seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the third round, should the Swiss survive Sam Querrey test.

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